Showdown, my deck is from the East.

Chapter 1282 The Ladder to Heaven
Mission codename: "Breaking the Waves"

Date: Winter of the year 31634 (Tianqi 31)

Location: Outskirts of Dengzhou

Mission objectives: Combat readiness patrol, launch projectiles, and clear the way for the fleet to set sail.

"The main fleet of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Navy departed at dawn. The flagship 'God of Zhongshan' led twelve warships and five supply ships, advancing southeast along the equatorial ice ring of the planet Dengzhou."

The fleet needs to reach its attack position off the coast of Lushun before spring.

Temperatures in the ice ring zone are close to absolute zero, which reduces the efficiency of ship propulsion systems. The waterway is also dense with broken ice, requiring air power to conduct reconnaissance and destroy obstacles.

The Dengzhou Cavalry Battalion dispatched Jingwei (002) and six Boshou squadrons to provide escort.

The battle is expected to take two hours, with no risk of combat anticipated.

—This concludes the mission briefing. Best of luck to everyone.

The moment the Yao-class ship (the official name for a starship) "Zhongshan God" unveiled the dotted array symbols, Lu Cheng knew the new recruits were in for trouble.

The moment the starship's celestial energy array goes from dormancy to full power output, it releases a massive gravitational wave.

The laws of physics are distorted by the mass of a ship, resulting in massive natural phenomena.

The Heavenly Crafts Bureau set up a protective stone at the star port of Dengzhou, and the Heavenly Law Bureau temporarily modified the laws governing heaven and earth within the surrounding stars.

It only prevented the behemoth from deforming the entire galaxy.

But for a mere few barges with a lift of only tens of millions of tons, that traction force is no less than an invisible giant hand swatting a fly.

The communication channel erupted in chaos.

"Hold on! Full counter-attack!"

"I was pulled over there!"

"Retract the wings, retract the wings, don't try to resist it, apply force in the direction of gravity!"

Lu Cheng, however, seemed quite relaxed and at ease.

He was currently following on the right side of the Ming warship "Cuifeng". Jingwei's tail feathers were slightly adjusted in angle, and the power feathers were kept less than three hundred miles away from the edge of the warship's shield.

Anyone with eyes can see that he hasn't even activated his Golden Core.

It's not necessary at all.

The fleet's gravity created invisible tracks in the vacuum, like undercurrents in a river.

The cavalry only needed to find the right flow and put themselves in it.

"Wow, 002!" came a voice of praise over the comms. It was the squadron leader of the barracks, codenamed "Bull".

He finally managed to pull his mount back from the roll, panting heavily, "Did you get stuck on the Bladebreaker?"

"The Penglai flight instructors didn't teach us, did they?" Lu Cheng said smugly.

“I even used my military merits to buy a book, something like ‘The Age of Air Combat is Coming: How Ordinary People Can Earn Their First Burden of Military Merit,’ but it didn’t say anything about it!” another barge member said.

"Of course not. The battlefield is ever-changing. You can't stop reading, but you can't just read books blindly either. I'll take you to the fleet's center of mass. Follow me!" Lu Cheng suddenly activated Hypergryphal Cruise.

"Follow 002, let's go!"

Seeing this, the barge squadron also transformed into streaks of light.
These young soldiers had no idea where the wheels of fate would take them as they rolled onward.

In the year 31634 of the Tianqi era, General Huang Long of Dongjiang reported to the emperor that the 6600-year standard training period in Dongjiang Town had ended, and the cultivation cave on Penglai Island had been closed.

Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Dengzhou, reported that the repair and refit of the warships of the Dengzhou-Laizhou naval forces were basically completed.

Zhang Tao, the deputy commander-in-chief of Dengzhou and Laizhou, was appointed as the admiral of the Dengzhou-Laizhou naval forces.

Water Virtue Star Lord, Imperial Censor of the Heavenly Court.

Heavenly Sea Sacrifice Envoy, Bohai Sea Dragon King Ao Shun.

The Heavenly River Navy, led by Marshal Tianpeng (Pigsy), immediately set sail for the waters off Lushun, thus beginning the Battle of Lushun.
The fleet slowly departed from the port.

Lu Cheng has led the squadron to the center of gravity of the fleet, where the gravitational pull of multiple warships is neutralized, resulting in significant energy savings.

The soldiers looked out from their cockpits and saw the giant ships nearby, while the Dengzhou Stars had been left behind.

Ahead, a thin ring of ice can be seen.

A ring of fine ice crystals and rock fragments floated slowly above the planet's equator, looking out from the cockpit like a semi-transparent veil draped over the universe—it was truly beautiful.

The further you fly, the lower the ambient temperature becomes.

"Brothers!" Lu Cheng shouted, "The cold air mass ahead will soon meet the fleet's thermal wake, and a cosmic storm is coming. Shut down cruise control and activate the ski-jump to save half a percent of energy."

The detachment included many veterans from Guan Ning, but none of them knew these astonishing details. Man Niu exclaimed, "I'd heard the Imperial Guards were awesome back in Penglai, and I couldn't believe it! We have to admit, they're amazing!"

Lu Cheng smiled slightly. He didn't even know who the commander of the Imperial Guard was. That guy could smell horse manure, look at the stars, and tell the wind direction. When it came to fighting, he was practically a human computer!

"Such attention to detail, 002, it might actually be useful."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng glanced at Jingwei's inner core and saw that it had 80% of its energy remaining. He estimated that the surrounding beasts had 75% of their energy left. He anticipated that the energy consumption would increase in the ice ring due to the low temperature.

“What do you mean by ‘uncertain’? I see that the Golden-Winged Insect is unintelligent, and the Nightmare Demon is reckless.” Lu Cheng shook his head. “If I were in charge, I would steal the data on the new type of cavalry and learn that when we've traversed about three-quarters of the Ice Ring, our energy will be depleted by 40%, forcing us to turn back. Then I would send troops to ambush them halfway across. By then, their energy will be critically low. If we fight, we might not be able to return; if we don't fight, we might be shot down.”

"So, 002, you taught us to use unorthodox methods to retain 10% of our energy?"

"What is called heretical path? This is called the art of war: deception!"

"The method is ingenious, but the mission briefing says no firefight is expected; we just need to..."

Drop drop drop.

The airborne Nantianmen combat platform interrupted the fleet's communications with three flashes, indicating a Level 3 emergency.

The polar day search array of the "Zhongshan God" has detected the wreckage of an abandoned starship blocking its path. The ship's onboard weapons are too powerful, and it is calling on its airborne weapons to demolish the wreckage.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Captain, if we blow it up, we can go back to camp, right?" This was Bo 006, his voice filled with eagerness.

“Yes, let’s go!” the bull replied.

"Wait." 002's voice appeared again at an inopportune moment. Lu Cheng looked at the target map that had been sent: "Didn't you find the location of this piece of debris? It's roughly on the three-quarters ring I just mentioned?"

A hissing sound came from the communication line.

The bull was very decisive.

"Team, spread out! Level one alert formation! Warm up your magical spells!"

The cavalry captain led the way toward the target, followed by the other five chariots in single file.

The ice fragments in the ice ring retreated rapidly on both sides of the fuselage, and the outside temperature readings plummeted.

-230 degrees Celsius, -240 degrees Celsius.

Lu Cheng stood guard nearby.

The wreckage soon came into view.

It was a Ming Dynasty standard transport ship, an old model from the Tianqi era. The ship broke in the middle, with the front half stuck diagonally on a huge ice rock and the rear half floating in the broken ice.

The fracture surface was jagged, as if it had been torn apart from the inside by something. The surface of the ship was covered with a layer of grayish-white ice crystals, completely obscuring the portholes and serial numbers.

"Weak thermal signal, consistent with characteristics of unpowered wreckage, 31% structural integrity, no signs of life inside the ship." The report came from Barricade 008, her voice as flat as reading an instruction manual.

Lu Cheng heard a communication from the Ming army's reconnaissance ship "Fengyan".

"The fleet noticed that you only used the highest alert level. Is there something going on?"

"Not at the moment," the bull's voice replied.

There aren't any at the moment.

The fleet is still in its early stages and its speed is relatively low. It would be quite troublesome if it were entangled by small, high-speed enemy units, so it needs escort. Once the wreckage is destroyed and the fleet passes through three-quarters of the ring area and enters the high-speed ocean current zone, the mosquitoes will no longer be a threat to these cosmic behemoths.

However, what 002 said makes a lot of sense. If you don't use tricks to save energy, the mount's energy will be almost half depleted by the time you get here.

Since their side didn't have an aircraft carrier, the cavalry had no choice but to return to camp.

If anything were to happen, the fleet could potentially suffer losses.

"Prepare the Fire Immortal Technique, aim at the fracture surface in the middle of the ship, and blast it open in one go," Bull ordered in the channel, his finger never leaving the weapon switch.

Three-quarters of the ice ring, faint starlight reflecting off the surrounding stars and onto the remnants, the casting unit slowly approached, and the more it looked at the severed halves, the more they resembled a gaping maw ready to devour its prey.
At the same time, the faint light from the Hall of Supreme Harmony shone on the white jade bricks and reflected onto the palace walls. The dark and distorted shadows slowly approached, and the more one looked at the two half-closed doors, the more they resembled a gaping maw that would devour people.

Wei Zhongxian wanted to know more and more.

Has that person left the capital?
Wei Zhongxian stood in front of the door, the python on his chest slowly slithering in the candlelight.

The shadows receded as if burned when they touched the candlelight.

It is fear.

but.
It is also greedy.

There is a chair inside.

The Nightmare Demon could smell the scents emanating from above: worship, madness, insanity, and ultimate power.

They are all unparalleled delicacies, and they are all ladders to heaven!
Once they sit in that chair, the Nightmare Clan will rightfully become the ancient gods of humanity's return.